Global fertility rates are falling, with major economic consequences. Conventional policies like parental leave and financial incentives have had limited impact. This column presents new evidence from Brazil’s housing credit lotteries, showing that early access to homeownership significantly boosts fertility rates. Housing affects family planning through affordability, stability, and relocation to better environments. Policymakers should […]
Unpaid care provided by family members or friends remains the predominant form of support for older people in Europe. This column examines ways to measure the value of informal care and presents estimates using a wellbeing-based methodology. The findings suggest that the compensating surplus – the income equivalent required to offset the disutility experienced by […]
Preventing early school-leaving can enable disadvantaged youth to break cycles of multi-dimensional disadvantage. This column analyses a sample of Australians with high rates of early school-leaving to gauge its effects on the most disadvantaged students. For men, leaving school before age 18 increases the likelihood of experiencing homeless, being incarcerated, using cannabis daily, and using […]
Reports that the Russian war in Ukraine may end this year reinforce the necessity of planning Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction. This column takes stock of what has been accomplished so far and what still needs to be done. Missing elements include a transparent and coherent tracking system for reconstruction aid; an institution to serve as a […]
Fighting global warming requires huge investments in decarbonated energy generation. To address this challenge, the European authorities introduced a regulation promoting the use of long-term contracts. This column argues that while well-designed long-term contracts are good instruments for attracting investment in new generations, preserving the price signal in the wholesale market for efficient dispatching, and […]
Trade agreements increasingly include a focus on sustainability goals. This column examines the impact of environmental, labour, and civil rights provisions in trade agreements on related outcomes in developing countries. Enforceable provisions have little effect on performance indicators, whereas non-enforceable provisions in non-EU preferential trade agreements are accompanied by a deterioration in several outcome measures. […]
Access to finance is essential for firm growth, but women-led businesses often face significant demand-side and supply-side barriers to access. This column presents an analysis of World Bank Enterprise Survey data from 61 countries. While women-managed firms are equally likely to apply for and receive credit as their counterparts managed by men, they receive lower […]
In an increasingly volatile global landscape, there is an urgent need to enhance Europe’s competitiveness and address its security needs. This column, drawing on the 2025 European Investment Bank Investment Report, emphasises three key drivers to consolidate Europe as a global leader. First, it needs to unlock business opportunities via market integration and simplification of […]
The COVID pandemic had disastrous effects on health and economic activity worldwide. In the euro area, mandatory lockdowns contributed to a sharp fall in production and a rapid rise in unemployment, inducing an expansionary fiscal and monetary response. This column examines the effects of the pandemic and the ensuing economic policies on public support for […]
There is clear consensus on the importance of teachers for student outcomes. This column focuses on a less studied factor: management quality. Exploting a quasi-natural experiment setting in Italy, where high schools underwent changes in leadership between 2011 and 2015, the authors show that better management practices significantly improved academic performance and increased students’ aspirations […]
